The MOTOROKR EM30 is a candy-bar, weighs all of 100 grams, and switches from being a mobile phone to a music player almost instantly. Though a stunner, it looks a bit too much like the Motorola E8, with a similar design and buttons.

But being a music phone, it’s the sound that matters the most and this is where the EM30 scores with excellent quality both on and off the headphone. To add to this, this Motorola phone comes with a unique MusicID service that allows it to sample music from any source, say a TV or the radio, and analyse the file from the Moto Music store’s database. This obviously needs GPRS. Once the song is found, you have the option to buy it online. The phone is also compatible with Windows Media Player 11 and gives users the freedom to download music from more than 200 online music stores worldwide.

The EM30 stands out due to its bright colour contrast of red and black and its key pad which is otherwise hidden behind a laminated panel. However, this is also its main drawback. Despite the Modeshift technology lighting up the panel to highlight the keys, it’s very difficult to press the right buttons while dialling or texting. In fact, it took multiple attempts to get the numbers right while dialling.

But the intelligent landscape LCD display makes for a good web browsing experience. The main menu is user-friendly, though most of the features, except for MusicID, are similar to other phones available in the market.

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